podcast about grief

**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode covers sensitive subject matter and is not suitable for all listeners. If this topic could be a trigger for you, listen to this episode with a friend, a sibling, a loved one or a parent so you can talk about any emotions that come up for you. The contents of this episode are not intended to replace therapy and should not be taken as such. If you need immediate help, please call the crisis hotline listed below in our resources.

 

In this episode, Naila Francis shares her story of navigating the depths of grief after the death of her father and stepfather. 

 

She shares how the losses she experienced completely transformed her life and personal vocation.

 

Naila Francis is a writer, grief coach, death midwife and ordained interfaith minister. She holds space and offers ritual and ceremony for people at many of life's sacred thresholds, including birth, marriage, death and other transitional passages. 

 

Her work is often informed by her love of poetry, the gifts of healing rooted in nature and community and her commitment to expanding our grief literacy and death awareness. She is a founding member of Salt Trails, a Philadelphia collective making grief public and visible through community rituals. 

 

For many years, Naila worked as a journalist, interviewing artists from all backgrounds, before finding her way to the vocations of companioning others through grief and dying after suffering several personal losses in her own life, including the death of her father.

Listen in as we talk about:

• [0:55] Excerpt of Naila’s poem about grief
• [7:00] How her stepfather Lou was the angel in their lives that they didn’t know they needed
• [11:30] Her father’s diagnosis  
• [13:00] Navigating her relationship with her dad after her parents’ separation 
• [17:20] Ways she processed the anger she felt towards her dad after he died
• [21:20] The healing journey Naila went on after the passing of her dad and stepfather
• [31:00] How her grief changed her life
• [41:05] What self love looks like for Naila now

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Sibling Grief by Susan E. Casey
• https://grief.coach/who-we-are/naila-francis/        

 

Grief Hotline: 

• https://www.griefresourcenetwork.com/crisis-center/hotlines/ 

 

Connect with Naila here:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Blog
• www.thishallowedwilderness.com 
• https://www.instagram.com/salttrailsphilly 

Connect with Susan

• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube
• https://rockyourshine.com/
• TikTok

One of the first things that struck me about my discussion with Ratnadevi is how she noted that there were so many different examples of impermanence that we could work with. She knew that her mother was dying. We are wherever we are with the pandemic, our climate is in crisis, and Ukraine is under attack. These are all pretty significant reminders of impermanence. As Ratnadevi and I pondered the changes we face in our world and in ourselves, we did not let go of hope.

In fact, she discussed active hope. Meaning, not just wishing for positive change – but finding the steps that you can take to move forward with that change. And to be able to take those steps, you need to be in a place of acceptance.

To recognize the reality of a situation. Once you accept that reality, you are in a better place to find your way of moving forward.

Visit Ratnadevi at her website:  www.livingmindfulness.net

And purchase her recently released book, Bringing Mindfulness to Life here: https://playspacepublications.com/bringing-mindfulness-to-life/